22 Oct, 2024
Alterum: A Story of Minimalism in American Design
The inaugural winner of the Dubai Watch Week × Grail Watch design competition
debuts an original yet simple watch design.
WORDS by Revolution
The story of Grail Watch has so far been marked by three chapters. The first was “Dream Collaborations” — making the watches that had only existed in our fantasy draft picks come true. The second, “The Revival of Past Icons,” ambitiously brought back dream watches from their halcyon era, bridging its history with a new generation of collectors. Then came the third, “Luminous Signature,” which transformed historic timepieces through the artful application of Super-LumiNova.
For the fourth chapter of our story, we wanted to do something different: “Champion Emerging Talent.” This period of industry we find ourselves in is characterized by creativity and accessibility. Thus, we’ve partnered with Dubai Watch Week to discover and nurture emerging talent from anywhere they might be in the world. Read on to find out the story of our inaugural recipient of this initiative.
"The Alterum story starts with a lesson in simplicity — designing less, cutting away the chaos, to simplify. Simplicity is beautiful. It is brutal, it is harsh, but when nothing else can be added or removed, it becomes truth. And the truth endures."
Justin Walters, founder of Alterum Watch Co.
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With this premise of simplicity and reduction, Justin Walters set out to create a hybrid American-Swiss watch brand that expresses the beautiful, brutal simplicity of American watchmaking that just might be the most original new voice in microbrand design the industry has seen in a long time.
Says Walters, “At the core of Alterum lies a philosophy that values clarity over complexity, where every detail serves a purpose. Inspired by the clean lines and understated beauty found in modern architecture and early examples of industrial design, Alterum is a testament to the belief that less can be more.” Soon after he finished the rendering of his design, Walters decided to create an Instagram page for Alterum (@alterumwatchcompany) and posted an image of his Worldtimer. Such was the strength of his design that the image was shared a multitude of times and, before he knew it, his Alterum account was flooded with requests to purchase the watch. He had to explain to potential customers that the watch only existed in design form. He explains, “After about the 100th message, I began thinking to myself, ‘OK, I’ve got to make this watch.’”
Alterum Worldtimer
ALTERUM WORLDTIMER
The textured grey dial dances between an understated grain in the shadow and elegantly exuberent speckles under direct light.
Says Walters, “The first challenge was the size of the watch. I was really determined that the watch be no larger than 39mm in diameter and 10.5mm in thickness. My generation has seen a shift away from the large watches of the past and back to classic dimensions and proportions. Also, as an American brand, I wanted to be democratic and universal; I wanted to fit on anyone’s wrist. Second, I wanted to create an elegant integrated bracelet watch, because as an American, I wanted it to be adaptable with any style. This should be the perfect ‘white T-shirt watch’ because that’s America. But it should also look and feel sophisticated enough to be cool even in a suit.”
“We worked a lot on the integration of the bracelet with the case to create a sort of ‘lugless’ design [and] to really create a sense of architecture on the wrist. We wanted the bracelet to taper elegantly at the back of the wrist. Similarly, the stepped bezel is not only a nod to the tiered structure of the Guggenheim, but also to some of my favorite vintage watches such as the old Longines ‘Tre Tacche’ water resistant timepieces of the ’40s and ’50s.”
The integrated stainless steel case measures 38.5mm x 10.5mm
THE NEW WAVE IN MICROBRANDING
Says Walters, “Post-war America was the era of what I call the ‘truth seekers’ and the rise of American minimalism. You had Ray and Charles Eames out in Venice, radically innovating furniture and living spaces with formed plywood. You had the rise of the method actors that rejected theatrical technique and replaced it with raw emotion, like Marlon Brando and James Dean. You had rock ’n’ roll which totally eclipsed big band and swing of the ’40s with its directness and in-your-face power. You had Jackson Pollock channeling his Freudian id through his shamanistic action drip paintings. In California, you had the rise of surf culture and motorcycle desert racing, both of which reduced man to his most primal interactions with nature. Even when it came to style, America’s youth ditched elaborate dress, replacing it with the reductionist purity of the white T-shirt. This was the era, from a design perspective, that I was inspired by.”
Ray and Charles Eames with their famed Lounge Chair. Photo: Vitra
The golden era of American minimalism produced enduring beacons of style and design — Jackson Pollock's drip paintings
Marlon Brando’s iconic white tee
Steve McQueen's effortless cool
The modernist Eames House
RADICAL RULE-BREAKING IN DESIGN AND ARCHITECTURE
There are two important works of architecture that inspired Walters’ first watch, the Alterum Worldtimer: Apple Park, designed by Norman Foster for their Cupertino headquarters, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum in New York. Both designs are challenging and incredibly beautiful, with a simple start — the circle. The Guggenheim is a masterpiece of form. It’s stark and out of place, but it makes us open our eyes and allows us to look, not just see. Apple Park is contemporary, sleek, and it’s a marvel of design. The structure itself is more than just a place to work, it’s a piece of art, much like their products.
Exterior views of the Guggenheim Museum, New York
Apple Park, Cupertino
He explains, “This was Frank Lloyd Wright’s design for the Guggenheim Museum. When it was unveiled in 1959, people asked themselves, ‘Is this a building or a sculpture? Or is it both?’ To me, he was the first American architect to be perceived with an almost mythological status as an artist. As such, he paved the way for individuals like Frank Gehry and Tadao Ando, both of whom I love.” The critic Paul Goldberger called the Guggenheim the catalyst for change, making it “socially and culturally acceptable for an architect to design a highly expressive, intensely personal museum. In this sense almost every museum of our time is a child of the Guggenheim.”
Says Walters, “I was also really influenced by my visit to Apple Park. In particular, the ceiling of the Steve Jobs Theatre, which consists of concentric radial panels. There’s this incredible sense of harmony and infinity in this structure.”
Steve Jobs Theatre, Apple Park. Photo: Foster + Partners
Interior view of the Guggenheim Museum, New York. Photo: Andrew Pielage
With these two structures in his mind, Walters set to work. He explains, “I began to interpret these two extraordinary architectural masterpieces as a watch with a series of discs — four in all. When you look at the exterior of the Guggenheim, you’ll see a series of four levels that, together, form a spiral. But really you get a sense of my inspiration when you look down from the very top of the Guggenheim museum. You’ll see that the spiral staircase creates an optical illusion of a pure, almost infinite spiral.”
At the time of its creation, such a building without stairs and characterized by just one continuous ramp was unheard of, even shocking, to the public. Walters explains, “Wright created a perfect logarithmic spiral which we see in seashells. As humans, we are innately drawn to this form, because they represent a sort of resilience in nature. As far back as the staircase in the Vatican Museum, architects have been implementing the spiral into their designs. But the Guggenheim was the first building to give over the primacy of the entire building to this shape. It was just so radical but in such a purposeful and minimalistic way. When you look down from the top of the museum, the spiral ramp starts to look like a series of disks and, in my mind, I saw a watch without hands. I started to see the four main disks for the hours, minutes, the 24-hour disk and the city disk of a worldtime watch.”
When asked if he had other watchmaking influences, Walters replies, “I was aware of Ressence and of the Urwerk UR-102, and I’ve always liked the shape of Ikepod watches, but the inspiration was really architectural.”
Guggenheim Museum, New York. Photo: David Heald © Solomon R. Guggenheim
Blueprint of Guggenheim Museum
Illustration of the Guggenheim Museum. Picture: Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
CLARITY OVER COMPLEXITY
Which begs the question: Why a worldtime watch? Says Walters with a laugh, “I wanted a Worldtimer because it’s easier to know when the people in Switzerland are awake, and when they’re asleep. Also, designing a minimalistic worldtime watch seemed like the kind of thing that would be both extremely challenging and interesting. I’ve yet to see one that can challenge brands in the watch industry.”
In the process of conceptualising the Worldtimer, it again brought up thoughts of America in the 50’s. Following the Second World War, America became the most important economy in the world, and as such New York because its global epicentre. You had the Rockefeller and Getty families; you had the birth of Abstract Expressionism; you had writers like Norman Mailer and Truman Capote. New York became a playground for the global jet set, who would fly in and out of the space-age JFK (Idlewood) Airport.
Looking at the Alterum Worldtimer, the word that comes to mind is “intuitive.” Even though the hour and minute hands are fixed on disks — circular for the hour and a simple line for the minutes — the dial has been configured for the utmost clarity. To maximize this, the indices and names of the cities are set against a gray background with a matte frosted finish. From there, the dial consisting of these four circles is surrounded by a thin, elegant and angular double-stepped bezel. The case shape can almost be called a “disco volante” (flying saucer), save for the abrupt and dynamic juxtaposition with two wedge-shaped elements that integrate with the bracelet of the watch. At two and four o’ clock, there are two crowns that seem to almost flow into the case, yet are easy to access due to hidden recesses at the base of the watch. The top crown serves to operate the bidirectional city disk and the bottom one is for setting the time and winding the watch.
THE MARK OF A QUALITY MANUFACTURE
Here comes the Swiss dimension of the Alterum brand. Justin knew he had to find a partner to help him create his watch that would represent the highest level of quality, mechanical competence and customer service. He says, “I hate the idea of people launching watch brands but not having adequate customer service. For me, if I was going to do this, I had to do it right. So I decided to work with one of the best specialist companies in Switzerland named Roventa-Henex. It was really important to me that the quality of the watch was flawless.”
Even if you’ve never heard of Roventa-Henex, chances are you’ve tried on or even owned one of the watches they manufacture. They are Switzerland’s most renowned “white label” watch factory and manufacture timepieces for some of the biggest and most famous brands in the world. Says Jérôme Biard, Roventa-Henex’s CEO and co-owner, “We have a reputation of being the best at what we do. It was funny because we often get new enquiries, but when Justin reached out I knew who he was, because I had been following the advancement of his Alterum project and really liked his design.”
Jérôme Biard, CEO and co-owner of Roventa-Henex
Based in Tavannes, Roventa-Hennex is one of Switzerland’s most renowned ‘white label’ manufacturers. Photo credit by Roland Zumbuehl - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0
A COMBINATION OF PASSION AND PURPOSE
When asked what differentiates Alterum from other microbrands in the market, Walters says, “The experience we offer is that of simplicity. When you experience Alterum products, it should feel like you’re holding something sacred and special. It should turn everyone into potential designers and creators. It should also make you think of the space you’re in, and the importance of that object in the space. I hope you get this feeling when you put the watch on your wrist. It should stop you. It should make you think. These are not just watches, but they are also objects of desire.”
Says Jérôme Biard, “In my career, I’ve seen a multitude of watch designs. But when I saw the design for the Alterum Worldtimer, I saw a sense of purposefulness that I found really compelling and [that] made me want to work on this project. Just like him [Walters], we took a bit of a gamble on Alterum, but I think it’s critical to identify and aid emerging talent in the Swiss watch industry to empower our future. I actually love that Justin comes from outside the industry and has reference points that are not from what can sometimes become an echo chamber for regurgitative concepts. There is something about Alterum that is fresh, dynamic and new. It is very Swiss, thanks to us and our manufacturing, but very American, thanks to Justin and his design philosophy. I think the combination is very cool.”
Buy NowTECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Alterum Worldtimer
Movement: Sellita SW330-2 GMT automatic, 56-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, worldtime function
Size: 38.5mm diameter; 10.5mm height
Case: 316L vapor blasted brushed stainless steel case bracelet; Butterfly clasp with buckles; Water resistant to 50m
Dial: Flat sapphire crystal, anti-reflective coating
Price: CHF 2850 excluding taxes
Availability: Limited edition of 100 pieces
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